Sixty-one more police officers have been arrested due to their use of a smart phone application called ByLock, raising the number of police officers under arrest as part of the same probe to 160.
Turkish prosecutors claim that ByLock is the top communication tool among members of the faith-based Gülen movement, which the government accuses of masterminding a coup attempt on July 15. Critics, however, have blasted the government for detaining thousands simply for using a mobile application
Last week detention warrants were issued for 198 police officers including police chiefs across 35 provinces due to their use of ByLock. Ninety-nine of the police officers were arrested last week and sent to Silivri Prison. After being kept under detention for days, 61 more police officers were arrested on Tuesday.
There are still 30 police officers under detention in the same investigation.
Tens of thousands of civil servants have either been dismissed or arrested for using the application. Critics say the use of a technological application is not a criminal activity nor is it evidence of membership in a terrorist organization.
Turkey survived a military coup attempt on July 15 that killed over 240 people and wounded more than a thousand others. Immediately after the putsch, the government along with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement. The movement strongly denies any involvement in the coup attempt.